Iowa’s Mohn claims victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League event on Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien

Cedar Falls’ Miller wins Strike King co-angler division

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. – Boater Dan Mohn of Lansing, Iowa, caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine event on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Mohn, who had also won a BFL tournament at Prairie du Chien five years ago to the day, earned $4,514 for his victory.

“I locked up to Pool 9 with a big group,” Mohn said. “I ran around to a bunch of different spots and caught two early and just chipped away and kept culling. I added three others that I weighed throughout the day.

“I ended up using a bunch of different baits,” Mohn said. “I threw a topwater, I was dragging Big Bite Baits soft plastics on a Carolina rig, and threw a variety of hard baits, including a SPRO Aruku Shad Lipless Crankbait, SPRO jerkbait and a SPRO topwater bait. I was looking at a variety of spots – grass and rock that had current, in 3 to 8 feet of water. It was just a variety of things.”

Mohn said he weighed in all smallmouth, however, he said he caught two largemouth that he culled out late in the day. He said the majority of his fish came from Pool 9, but Pool 10 produced a number of nice bass for him as well.

“The first fish I put in the livewell was my big fish,” Mohn said. “It weighed 3¾ pounds. At that point, I figured I had one down and four to go. My second keeper was over 3 pounds, so I said, ‘This is going good. I only need three more of the right kind of bites.’”

Mohn had four fish over 3 pounds and one just under 3 pounds, and figured if he could cull up to one more bass over 3 pounds, he would have a shot at a high finish in the tournament.

“I tried one more spot on a grass edge and hooked another one that was well over 3 pounds,” Mohn said. “I thought it was going really great, and I had a nice limit at that point.

“It seems like wins come when you least expect it,” he said. “I hoped I’d have a decent tournament. I was on decent fish in practice. This is a tough group of fishermen in this division, and it’s hard to win against that competition. I’ve been on a pretty good roll these past few weeks, and people have been telling me when you’re hot, you’re hot, and just ride that momentum while you have it.”

The Top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

• 1st:          Dan Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, five bass, 16-15, $4,514
• 2nd:        Fernando Lobato, Sparta, Wis., five bass, 16-8, $2,397 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
• 3rd:        Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-8, $1,265
• 4th:         Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-6, $885
• 5th:         Jordan Esser, Galena, Ill., five bass, 14-14, $759
• 6th:         Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., five bass, 14-11, $946
• 7th:         Brandon Gann, Sparta, Wis., five bass, 14-10, $632
• 8th:         Jerry Hauck, Lancaster, Wis., five bass, 14-7, $569
• 9th:         Kevin Ruh, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 14-6, $506
• 10th:      Kory Rose, Waterloo, Iowa, five bass, 14-2, $938

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Kory Rose of Waterloo, Iowa, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 13 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $495.

Blake Miller of Cedar Falls, Iowa, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,897 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 10 ounces.

The Top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished: 

• 1st:          Blake Miller, Cedar Falls, Iowa, five bass, 13-10, $1,897
• 2nd:        Brad Juen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 12-7, $949
• 3rd:        David Ondrla, Elmhurst, Ill., five bass, 11-8, $633
• 4th:         Jamie Gomez, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 11-2, $443
• 5th:         Matthew Tinsman, Peoria, Ill., five bass, 10-11, $379
• 6th:         Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, five bass, 10-7, $348
• 7th:         Jason Olson, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., five bass, 10-3, $316
• 8th:         Hertz Skaer, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 9-15, $485
• 9th:         Charles Tremelling, Dodgeville, Wis., four bass, 9-11, $253
• 10th:      Will Ahnen, Fennimore, Wis., five bass, 9-6, $371

Matt Knox of Metamora, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $247, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After four events, Jeff Ritter of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, leads the BFL Great Lakes Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 975 points, while Hertz Skaer of Holmen, Wisconsin, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 968 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional tournament on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. 

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.